Stab plates for this purpose normally come in pairs, one stab plate carrying a plurality of couplers (which may be hydraulic or electrical) which can be mated with respective coupler on the other stab plate as the plates are moved together.
The invention particularly concerns a stab plate which has a much improved tolerance for initial mis-alignment and/or obliquity of approach of the stab plates and also for the effects of separating forces oblique to the direction in which the couplers mate. One preferred form of the invention is a load bearing stab plate assembly which should be able to separate without damage following an emergency failure of a nearby unit that it controls. As will be explained, it incorporates tilting and translational features to accommodate many different possible trajectories of a pulling unit. In particular the stab plate is adapted to allow a pulling action which is oblique to the normal mating and demating direction. The stab plate assembly preferably has capture features permitting an accurate alignment of mating parts for remote make up, separation and remake after separation.